my kats taking a sh$% kicking

[piston5]

anyone have any advise or tricks (legal that is) they use to keep from getting hit while parked.......3 days after I got my bike out of storage this year the guy in my parking garage backed into it and cracked the front fender.......at least he came forward and paid for all damage......then today at the school I work at one of the parking lot attendants who was just coming to work backed into my bike hard enough to knock it over.....he then tried to cover it up by moving his vehicle far away from mine.....then he and another parking attendant picked up my bike, put it back on the side stand, and walked away.......only problem for them was a student was sitting about 20 feet away watching the whole thing.......so appart from spike strips or hungry rabbies infested dogs chained to the bike is there anything you guys do to avoid this kind of crap???? Thanks.........

[woobie]

Just curious, how do you park your bike?

When I park in a normal car spot I will back in til my headlight is about even to the other cars tail lights. If you park your bike at the "top" of a parking spot it may look empty to someone cruising the lot and when they whip in they will hit you.

[piston5]

well the first time in my underground parking area i was parked towards the front......i had just moved in and i guess the guy across the way from me was used to using my spot as space to back out of his.....so now i park towards the back of my spot and have no problems......but today it happened in an open area that is reserved for the parking attendants and me (the building supervisor told me to park there cause it would be safer for my bike) there are no actual parking lines......just an open area.......

[Katgirl]

How about having flares you keep in a tank bag and light 'em up around it when you leave it. Or those bright orange parking cones?

Piston, you are having horrible luck hope things get better

[SweetLou]

I suggest hiring a large man with a big gun.

[Badkitty]

i have a simple solution. Dont park in the parking. I park in front of the stores i goto , sometimes near bike racks...sometimes just off to the side of the main entrance. I never get hassled by anyone or parking police.

Also , at least sacramento, walmart has actually put MOTORCYCLE only parking right next to handicap parking. It was funny to see alittle 3ft wide parking lane. ALso whats funnier is its closer to the store than the handicap

[WildKat]

I have to park in the garage at work.. where's there's tons of cars at.. I never park in a spot,becuz cagers whip in and out of those spots like crazy, and unless you park toward the rear of the spot, (then u run the risk of them clipping you as they back out), they'll pull right in and possibly not notice ur bike till its too late.

I always park right at the top of the stairs in the garage, out of the way of cagers and still plenty of room to get up and down the stairs.

If Im at a parking lot at a mall or something, I try to find a spot with another bike if I can, or I'll find the closest spot w/ atleast a few empty ones around it and pull half way into the spot, so im as noticeable as possible to passers by who are looking for a spot of their own.

[wolfrider]

For visibility, I put reflective tape in a disconnected "U" shape on my back fender. Also park in the right-rear area of parking spaces so others can see it is not empty.

Other than that, I have a sticker prominently displayed on the tank:

"WARNING: If you value your life
as much as I value this motorcycle,
Don't mess with it."

[WildKat]

Hell yeah, we should all have those stickers !!

[Katana600Tao]

i have a simple solution. Dont park in the parking. I park in front of the stores i goto , sometimes near bike racks...sometimes just off to the side of the main entrance. I never get hassled by anyone or parking police.

Also , at least sacramento, walmart has actually put MOTORCYCLE only parking right next to handicap parking. It was funny to see alittle 3ft wide parking lane. ALso whats funnier is its closer to the store than the handicap

That's pretty much what I do ... I'll park on sidewalks and stuff, and I don't get hassled either. At home I park my bike in front of my car so nobody can get to it. Other than that, I have no more suggestions than what's been mentioned ... although the orange cone idea seems decent.

[escahoe]

I think it would be a great idea to strap a 12 guage to the bike aimed to the front of the parking spot . Rig it so that it will go off with the slightest bump , I gurentee no one will ever hit it again

[naskie18]

I'm always afraid my Kat will get hit by somebody in my apartment complex coming home late, and not paying attention. I usually back it into the space and make sure the front tire is sticking out farther than the vehicles on either side, to make sure people can see that it isn't an empty space.

Don't have to worry about it at work, as we have designated motorcycle parking here, but when I go to a store or anything, I usually park the bike as I described above. Figure if people can see it they're less likely to hit it

[The CyberPoet]

Motorcycle Covers increase the visibility of a bike, especially at night, depending on what it's made of and it's color. If you don't use a cover, parking with the headlight facing out can help, as the headlight can act as a very large reflector.

If you park in a parking space, park diagonally across the rear of the space. This lets other drivers see it earlier.

Parking on the center stand increases the stability of the bike and greatly decreases the likeliness of someone knocking it all the way over.

And as always, parking on a sidewalk, at a bicycle rack or up against the building means it's far less likely to get hit.

For underground parking garages, see if there is any space around the booth that collects the money or the arm that dispenses the parking tickets that is safe -- usually the collection point is ringed with steel tubes to keep people from going around the barrier (and parking right behind them means you're safe). Sometimes they also have corners which are not marked out for parking that are good choices.

Good Luck!
=-= The CyberPoet

[Range]

what school do you work at...I can take care of it....permanently